Life & Style

Nice and easy does it - Côte d’Azur

17 Jul 2008

Richard Moore braves the glamour and the husband hunters of the Côte d’Azur and discovers a wealth of treasures

Streets of glory - Edinburgh Rat Race

17 Jul 2008

Edinburgh will be reclaimed by hundreds of scurrying creatures this month. Claire Sawers meets the people behind the Rat Race

Taste Test - Meat Pies

17 Jul 2008

Gregg’s Scotch Pie Gregg’s, various outlets, Scotland wide 70p We couldn’t do a meat pie test without saying ‘aye’ tae a pie – a traditional Scottish mutton pie, that is. The hot water crust pastry is crunchier and more robust than the flakier…

Cocktail kudos

17 Jul 2008

Shervene Shahbazkhani recently won the Scottish heats of the 42 Below Cocktail World Cup in Edinburgh with her innovative cocktail, ‘Bring the Beat Back’. She describes how she made it; ‘I tend to follow what my instincts tell me to make. Most cocktails…

Flavours of the month - Festival Food

17 Jul 2008

Food and Drink editor Donald Reid surveys what’s new in the eating out scene around Edinburgh as the Festival frenzy looms

Side Dishes - Food news to nibble on

17 Jul 2008

MAKING USE OF the narrow first-floor space above Brel on Ashton Lane, Serge is a new wine bar serving a menu of snacks and small food, with the extensive beer list and main menu from Brel also available. Chilled tunes and regular tastings feature. Book…

Take three: Fringe firsts - new Edinburgh openings for the festival 2008

17 Jul 2008

Olive Branch Bistro 44-46 George IV Bridge, 0131 226 4155, www.theolivebranchscotland.co.uk This intriguing site has hosted pioneering modern Scottish restaurant Dial as well as Marque Central scion Herbe Bistro. The dining space is one below…

Three places nearby the Côte d’Azur

17 Jul 2008

Cannes Although most famous for the illustrious film festival that swamps the city in actor-types every May, Cannes' reputation for glamour is evident throughout the year. The main streets are packed with expensive boutiques, but most of the town's…

Three to try: adventure sports

17 Jul 2008

Transgression Park Head to the top of Edinburgh’s Ocean Terminal for a spin on your BMX, skateboard or inline skates. Not yet a consummate professional? Lessons and equipment hire are available for all three ‘freesports’. There is also a designated…

WALL-E

Video Game Review

17 Jul 2008

Whatever the merits of the original work, game-of-the-movie titles tend to be rushed to market to coincide with a cinema release for the most cynical of purposes. The multiple development years that characterise genre-defining titles such as Halo and…

Food For Thought

3 Jul 2008

I’ll eat anything but I’m not a good cook and so I avoid cooking and food publications at every turn. I only do one dish well, and it’s easy: a salad featuring mozzarella, mint, peaches, lime juice, olive oil, and prosciutto. I like to drink tap water…

Mother India’s Café

3 Jul 2008

Monir Mohammed is the quietly spoken, congenial proprietor of six restaurants in Glasgow operating under the Mother India and Wee Curry Shop banners. In a sector grossly overpopulated with long, samey menus, kitsch decor and blandly ill-defined dishes…

Pageant

3 Jul 2008

Summer 2008 A shop. Why ever not? Inspired by trips to Berlin, London and even Glasgow, my friend Anna Stride and very-soon-to-be friend Claire Anderson suggest that we collectively open a menswear boutique in Edinburgh. Despite my retail experience…

Side Dishes

3 Jul 2008

Urban Angel has opened a second branch on Forth Street in the former Tapas Tree premises just off Broughton Street, Edinburgh. Compared to the Hanover Street original it’s open earlier (from 8am), has more space and is serving much the same local…

Take Three: Striding the Glasgow/Edinburgh divide

3 Jul 2008

Café Andaluz 77b George Street, New Town, Edinburgh, www.cafeandaluz.com Glasgow-based restaurant chain Di Maggio’s opened their first Spanish style Café Andaluz off Byres Road in 2003. A city centre venue followed in 2005, with their first foray…

Taste Test - Yoghurts

3 Jul 2008

Yeo Valley •••• Organic Strawberry Probiotic Yoghurt, 49p From Somerset, Yeo are now one of the market leaders in organic yoghurts, delivering a noticeably creamy yet light, pleasant tasting product. The sweetness comes from the fruit, and while…

Munich

19 Jun 2008

Beer. It might as well be the first word here, since there’s no getting away from it in Munich, even outwith the world-renowned annual piss-up of Oktoberfest. Löwenbräu, Hofbräu, Augustiner, Paulaner, Hacker-Pschorr, Spaten, Fraziskaner – you name them…

RSNO: Video Games Live

19 Jun 2008

Last year in the UK, videogames overtook the music industry in terms of money made and it looks like the film industry could be next. But today’s gaming technology is working in tandem with these industries in interesting new ways, making cut-scenes…

Sushi making

19 Jun 2008

Sushi is like a chocolate box selection for grown-ups, says Kumiko Hatori, a Japanese chef, and my teacher for the day. ‘It should be full of pretty shapes and bright colours that tempt you to dip in.’ We’re in the kitchen of Hatori’s home in Glasgow, a…

Cafézique

19 Jun 2008

If a deli is trying to tempt you to spend a bit more than you might at a supermarket on the basis that their food is better selected, in better condition and better quality, then you’d fully expect a partner café alongside to be operating under similar…

Food For Thought

19 Jun 2008

Breakfast is always the most important meal of the day. If unhurried (rarely), and in the right setting it is also my favourite meal of the day. In fact, Brodies breakfast tea is my favourite non-alcoholic drink . The most important ingredient for a…

Side Dishes

19 Jun 2008

The Royal Highland Show at Ingliston opens on Thursday 19 June for its annual four-day celebration of food, farming and the countryside. The Food Hall ranks as one of the largest gatherings of Scottish food and drink in the calendar with over 100…

Take Three: Delis-cum-Cafés

19 Jun 2008

Valvona & Crolla Caffè Bar, Grassroots Café and Herbie of Edinburgh.

Taste Test - Take-away margherita pizzas

19 Jun 2008

The Italian Kitchen •••• 64 Ingram Street, Glasgow, 0141 572 1472, www.italian-kitchen.co.uk Takeaway only. Pizza Margherita £6.95 Pizza is a simple thing, so getting the basics right is important. This one has a nicely chewy but crusty thin base…

Three others to try: Cooking classes

19 Jun 2008

Thai cooking Ever wondered how to transform a carrot into a rosebud? Get to grips with ornate vegetable carving and the basics of Thai cookery, then take the dishes home to eat. One-on-one tuition is available as well as group lessons for up to…

Eco-friendly festival shopping

5 Jun 2008

Never mind Kasabian at Connect or Shaky at Glasto, the real headliner at this year’s festivals is the environment, stupid. The ecological impact of 80,000-odd people producing a huge amount of concentrated waste is immense but festivals are offsetting…

Chez Pierre

5 Jun 2008

Sometimes we get a bit too serious about food. But then it is a serious business, it’s what keeps us upright, but like any realm of human interest some folk, among them food journalists and chefs, become just a bit too earnest about the whole subject.

Food For Thought

5 Jun 2008

When I’m performing it’s hard to get time for a proper dinner so I’ll usually have a bag of pistachios, a smoothie, maybe a nice nutty pie, little things to keep me going. I try to avoid cheese as it makes me phlegmy, but if I don’t have a performance…

Side Dishes

5 Jun 2008

Martin Wishart, now one of Scotland’s best-known chefs, has just released his first cook book. Despite the elevated culinary status of his Leith restaurant, Wishart is keen to emphasise that his recipes are designed with all abilities in mind. ‘Anybody…

Take Three: They were once a Pierre Victoire

5 Jun 2008

Howies 10 Victoria Street, Edinburgh, 0131 225 1721 www.howies.uk.com There’s no question the original PV was in a great restaurant spot: right in the heart of town on one of Edinburgh’s most interesting streets. Howies’ casual, populist style…

Taste Test - Smoothies

5 Jun 2008

Innocent Mango and Passion Fruit Smoothie ••• RS McColl, St James Centre, Edinburgh, £1.89 for 250ml Mango overload! A tangy, tropical taste is left in your mouth which could be quite refreshing on a hot day. It may be pure but you should expect a…

Food For Thought: Jonathan Wilkes

22 May 2008

My eating routine when I’m working is shocking. When I’m on tour, I grab what I can when I can. For breakfast I’ll have a bacon sandwich, followed by a club sandwich for lunch , so it’s bread after bread after bread. As much as I love my bread there’s…

Made in the Shade @ The Lighthouse

22 May 2008

She wears a frilly apron and teases her hair into a rock-hard bee-hive. She spends her days baking fresh cupcakes and her nights stitching patchwork quilts. According to Carrie Maclennan, she’s ‘the American 1950s housewife mother you never had’, and…

North of Bondi

22 May 2008

Nik Biok disgorges the word with evident distaste. ‘It’s not fusion,’ he insists. To the chef-proprietor of new Glasgow venture North of Bondi, the distinction is clear: fusion is a euphemism for ingredients that don’t go together; his place is an…

Take Three: Antipodean Advances

22 May 2008

Tapa Coffee & Bakehouse 21 Whitehill Street, Dennistoun, Glasgow, 0141 554 9981, www.tapabakehouse.co.uk Kiwi Robert Winters is an evangelist for real bread and good coffee, and spreads the word by baking great loaves and brewing a fine cup of joe.

Taste Test - Chicken sandwiches

22 May 2008

Fresssh 51–53 Cochrane Street, Glasgow, £2.80 •• Sweet chilli sauce gives this sandwich a bit of oomph – something it probably needed given the bland cubed chicken and plain bread. The fire in the chilli is under control, which is probably sensible…

Grand Theft Auto IV

8 May 2008

Typical, isn’t it? You wait two years for the most anticipated videogame of all time and it turns out all wrong. What have Rockstar being doing with their time? The driving feels different. They’ve changed the shooting. And Liberty City is only a…

Property special - Beat the credit crunch

8 May 2008

If you are looking for a new mortgage, consider the issues around affordability, the tie-in period of the deal, the loan to value percentage available and other conditions. Do not focus on the published headline rate and assume that is the deal for you.

Property special - City guides

8 May 2008

EDINBURGH HOTSPOTS Leith How much: Average one bed £126,540; two bed £164,420 What: For better or worse, the Leith of Irvine Welsh’s Trainspotting is almost unrecognisable as new cafés, restaurants and bars jostle for space alongside the…

Property special - Do it yourself

8 May 2008

A survey by online listings company Gumtree found that nine out of ten people do not think estate agents justify their high fees, while 40% told the Office of Fair Trading they offer poor value for money. So the recent explosion of people deciding to…

Property special - Old versus new

8 May 2008

For many property buyers these days, draughty old flats in need of repair just won’t cut it. Luckily there are plenty of shiny new options available across Scotland’s central belt, from swanky waterfront developments such as Coalhill in Leith to sleek…

Property special - Rental guide

8 May 2008

Know what you want Where do you want to live and who with, if anyone? What are your expectations? Be realistic but don’t settle for something which, in a few weeks, won’t make the grade. Go it alone or agent Consider if you want to scour the…

Property special - Sarah Beeny offers some advice

Moving on up

8 May 2008

Sarah Beeny may have flirted with the idea of a different career path but property was definitely in her stars. ‘My father is an architect and I grew up around building sites so they didn’t seem daunting,’ she explains. As her then-boyfriend (now…

Eating & Drinking Guide Launch Party

8 May 2008

At Cabaret Voltaire, four excellent restaurants received Eating and Drinking Guide Best Newcomer awards, with two more receiving our inaugural Readers’ Awards in association with Taste of Edinburgh. Attendants sipped a range of refreshments courtesy of…

The Shore Bar & Restaurant

8 May 2008

Leith is one of those hologramatic places that’s both new and old at the same time, depending on which particular angle catches your eye. Weathered sandstone or flash flats, docking cranes or design studios, venerable eating spots and new Michelin…

Property special

8 May 2008

Though she may have started house-hunting before the credit crunch hit the headlines, it took a quick look at the property market to tell Michelle Davies, 29, a software engineer who had lived in a rented flat since arriving in Edinburgh from Australia…

Food For Thought

8 May 2008

Because of my job, I need to keep fit and flexible. If I ate too many crisps, I wouldn’t fit into my straitjacket anymore. Breakfast is Weetabix Minis and a cup of green tea. I never eat fruit; I’m allergic to bananas, melons and strawberries. If I eat…

Airline announces direct flight from JFK to Edinburgh

8 May 2008

Delta Airline has launched a new direct service from New York JFK to Edinburgh, with its inaugural flight taking to the skies last week. Tourist agency VisitScotland said the move would help raise Scotland's profile as a holiday destination.

Dumb Waiter - A guide to food terminology

8 May 2008

brochette skewer think kebab, but not that kind of kebab. bruschetta Italian toast, served with olive oil and tomatoes (rather than marmalade). capon castrated cockerel. caponata a Sicilian speciality of aubergines with tomatoes, olives…

Earthy Food Store

8 May 2008

Despite the very best and utterly wholesome intentions to stock up on organic cheeses at the weekly farmers’ market, or to take a drive to the country to buy veg with the soil still hanging off it, sometimes a long lie or a busy week gets in the way.